Speed-indicator for ships



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

W. H. McOURDY.

SPEED INDICATOR FOR SHIPS.

No. 584.095. Patented June 8,1897.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. MOOURDY.

SPEED INDICATOR FOR SHIPS.

No. 584,095. Patented June 8,1897,

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UNITED STATES PATENT Truce.

\VARREN II. MCOURDY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPEED-INDiCATOR FOR SHlPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,095, dated June 8,1897'.

Application filed February 10, 1896. Serial No. 578,641. (No model.)

T0 to whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VARREN H. MOOURDY, of Boston, county of Suffolk,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Speed-Indicatorsfor Ships, of which the following description, in connection with theaceompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

This invention has for its object to provide a ships log of novelconstruction capable of closing an electrical circuit after the ship hastraveled a predetermined distance, the said electrical impulse actuatinga recording mechanism to make a distance-record on a suitable tape andstamp the time, the difference of time indicated between one and thenext timestamp record indicating the time required to travel a certaindistance. The electrical impulse will also actuate a visual recordingmechanism, which will indicate the number of miles traveled by the ship.

Figure 1 is a diagram representing a strip with recording time-stamp andvisual recorder and a ships log embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is adetail of the reel for the electric cable extended to the log. Fig. 3 isa top view of my improved log; Fig. 4., a longitudinal section thereof;Fig. 5, an enlarged.

detail of the devices for moving the rod which effects the electricclosure. Fig. 6 shows a piece of a strip or ribbon of paper stamped inaccordance with my invention.

The ships log is herein shown as composed of three hollow parts a b c,firmly connected together, one partbeing screwed into another. The parta has at one end a hole a for the cable d, and a chamber a the chamberreceiving a hollow plug of wood or other insulating material a for thereception of the cable, the ends of the electrical wires of the cablebeing exposed at one end of the plug to be acted upon at suitable timesby a push-button or closure 6, made in the form of a springplateconnected to the plug by a suitable screw (2, the wires f, which areused to give strength to the cable, being secured to the plug bysuitable screws f or in other usual manner. The hole a about the cableis sealed water-tight by suitable packing ta The part 1) contains aframe I), having heads 1) I), grooved externally to receive packing b tovided at its end with some insulating material, as Z)", and the rod hasalso fixed to it a second collar 6 (shown in Fig. 4 about which isplaced one end of a piece of rubber tubing b the opposite end of thetubing being passed over a projection from one side of the head Z) andthereon suitably attached. This tubing prevents the passage of waterinto the space between the two heads 1 and I).

The rod 11 is extended through a suitable guide and is provided with aknob Z), which in practice will be screwed onto the rod, so as to beadjusted as desired or required. The rod has a cross-pin 11 which isacted upon by a suitable spring W, the latter acting to keep the knobpressed against a cam g, having an abrupt shoulder (see Figs. 3, 4, and5) and fast on a shaft g, mounted in the frame I) and provided with agear 9 which is engaged by a pinion fixed to a worm-gear g, engaged androtated by a worm 9 fast on a shaft 9 supported in the said head If, thesaid shaft being extended outwardly beyond said head through astuffing-box and having fixed to it by a suitable set-screw g a plate gsuitably slotted to receive pins or projections g of a crank or disk gfixed on the end of a shaft h, a part of which is extended out throughthe part c and threaded for the reception of an eyepiece 7i, having asuitable hole 7L2. The shaft h has a fixed collar 7L3, and between itand a shoulder of the part c, and also between the end of the part c andthe said eyepiece, I have placed antifrictionrolls 7%, to thus insurethe turning of the shaft h in its part c with the minimum of friction.The eyepiece will have joined to it a rope or other flexible connectionm several feet in length and having attached to it a rotator m, whichmay be such as commonly employed with ships logs. The part Z) will inpractice have at diametrically opposite points balancing-vanes n and atits under side a steadyingvane a.

The electric cable (Z, which may be made in any usual manner, isrepresented in Fig. l as led into the barrel n of a suitable reel andinto a metallic journal thereof, and one wire out through each end ofsaid journal, (see Fig. 2,) where said end is acted upon by a suitablespring, as a n said spring being in an electric circuit provided with asuitable local battery a on the ship. hen the log, so described, isplaced overboard in the water, the rotator as it is drawn in the waterwill turn and rotate the shaft h, causing it to retate the worm-sh aft gand turn by the gearing described the cam g, and the latter, which maybe rotated at any desired speed by the employment of any suitablegearing, will act on the rod Zf and will slide it, so that the insulatedpiece b at the outer end of the rod will push the closure or push-buttondown onto the ends of the wires and complete the circuit in which theyare connected once during each rotation of the cam. This cam may berotated once for every one-tenth of a mile or any other desireddistance, and at each time that the circuit is completed an electricalimpulse is sent through the circuit to do work.

In Fig. 1, A is supposed to represent a ship, and at any suitable ordesired part of the ship, preferably in the chart-room, I place asuitable recording time-stamp B, having an inking-ribbon B, andcooperating with this ribbon is a strip or ribbon of paperl3 which maybe unwound from any suitable reel B and wound again onto any suitablereceivingwheel 13". The strip or ribbon may be passed between two rolls9 0, which will act to feed the strip, the feed-rolls being actuatedintermittingly immediately after closing the circuit in the ships log, asuit-able spring or weight acting through a train of gearing (not shown)to rot-ate the feeding-rolls, as commonly practiced in connection withautomatic registers used in electric circuits.

The stamp is in the electric circuit, and it is operated every time itsmagnet 15 is e11- ergized in usual manner, and it may be arranged tostamp on the under side or the upper side of the strip or ribbon. Thecircuit also contains a registering mechanism C, consisting of a trainof gearing and dials over which hands travel, one of said dials, the oneat the left in Fig. 1, representing units, and the following ones tens,hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands, so that by moving thegearing at the first dial by or through a suit able magnet 0 the saiddials may be moved step by step, and from them may be readily seen thenumber of miles that the ship has traveled on its voyage. Thisregistering mechanism will preferably be mounted in the main saloon,where it may be viewed by the passengers.

Fig. 0 shows the stamp, which is made on the ribbon of paper. The stampshows the imprint of the dial. of a clock with an hour and minute hand,the position of the imprint of the hands being constantly changing asthe hand indicating portions of the clocktrain are revolved by the clockmechanism contained in the time-stamp, said mechanism being well known.The stamp also i ndicates the year, mon th, and day of the 111 onth, andit also shows either the two letters A. M. or P. M., dividing thetwenty-fenr-hour day at twelve oclock. The stamp also may mark therecord one-tenth of a mile, and by counting off ten stamps and takingthe difference of their time the time consumed in traveling any one mileof the journey may be accurately ascertained. The reel may be rotated togive off or take up the cable, as required, and yet the cable willalways be in circuit.

lVhile I prefer to cast the ships log into the water, yet my inventionwould not be departed from if the log should be fixed on shipboard andbe actuated by the rotator, the rope m beingmade long enough to adapt itto this condition.

I have shown the rod Z) as acting directly by the collar at its end onthe push-button, yet my invention is not in all cases to be lim ited tothe exact means shown between the cam and push-button, as the closure ofthe push-button might be effected from the cam at stated intervals byother equivalent de* vices.

llavin g described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A ships log, having a chamber for the reception of aninsulating-plug, and open at its end for the reception of an electriccable, combined with the said cable provided with strengthgiving wiresand electric wires wrapped together within an insulating-protector, andhaving its strength-giving wires fixed to the log, and the electricwires inside the log being separated from the strengthgiving wires, andarranged to cooperate with a push-button, substantially as described.

2. The combination with an electric cable, of a ships log composed of ahollow divided shell, containing an independentframe having oppositeheads packed water-tight and inserted in said shell, and containing acam. and means to move it to actuate a push-button to effect the closingof an electric circuit, substantially as described.

3. In a ships log, a head having a projection, and a slide-rod having acollar, combined with a piece of tubing surrounding said rod, andconnected to said head and collar to form a water-tight joint,substantially as described.

t. A ships leg composed of a hollow divided shell having at one end arotating drivingshaft, and having within said shell a train of mechanismmounted in and carried by an independent frame having opposite headspacked water-tight in said shell, and a shaft extended outwardly fromone of said heads to be engaged and driven by the driving-shaft,combined with a stuffing-box through which the shaft driven by thedriving-shaft is extended,to operate, substantially as described.

5. A ships log, and a rotator therefor, a

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10 strength-giving Wires, nested together in a compact bunch and boundtogether by a protecting-covering, the latter Wires being firmly securedto the log, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of 15 two subscribing witnesses.

XVARREN H. MCOURDY. Witnesses:

Gno. W. GREGORY, MARGARET A. DUNN.

